


Moments in May

by BirchWood



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, But just in the one chapter, Fluff, KlanceyMay 2019, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, There's a RIDICULOUS amount of gooey fluff in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 01:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21291110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirchWood/pseuds/BirchWood
Summary: A collection of drabbles written for KlanceyMay 2019. Prompts were created byCreantzyon Instagram.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 23





	1. Selfie

**Author's Note:**

> All of these drabbles were originally written for posting on Instagram, so I apologize if some of them seem to have a weird format.

PIDGE:  
I seriously doubt anyone has hair like anymore

1:37PM

LANCE:  
I’m telling you it’s a mullet!!

PIDGE:  
Are you sure his hair isn’t just long?

LANCE:  
I know a mullet when I see one!!! 

HUNK:  
Like a young Billy Ray Cyrus mullet???

LANCE:  
Ew no that’d be even worse  
It’s half emo half scene looking?  
Idk like he has pointy bangs and it’s long on the bottom 

PIDGE:  
Soooo  
Long hair

HUNK  
lol

1:40PM

LANCE:  
Uugghhh fine  
Gimme a second I’ll take a pic

PIDGE:  
I thought he was sitting like two tables away

LANCE:  
He is but the people sitting between us got up  
We’re like back to back so I’ll just pretend to take a selfie

PIDGE:  
Lance you are the least subtle person we know 

LANCE  
I gOT THIs

PIDGE:  
If you say so

1:43PM

LANCE:  
THE SOUND WASNON AND HE TUENED AROUUN  
HES COMING OVRR RHERE  
GUSYHSSSA

HUNK:  
Oh nooooo!!!!

PIDGE:  
Rip in pieces 

1:50PM

HUNK:  
You think he’s dead?

PIDGE:  
Probs

HUNK:  
Oh wellsies 

2:09PM

LANCE:  
So  
Still alive  
Guess who’s got a new number in their phone 

PIDGE:  
Omg are you serious 

HUNK:  
Dude holy shit that’s awesome!

PIDGE:  
I can’t believe you got the number of the guy whose hair you were just complaining about

LANCE:  
Yeah well  
It’s not so bad


	2. School

When Keith first met Lance freshmen year, he didn’t think much of him. They were roommates, forced together because they had both signed up for random dorming. He doesn’t remember much about it except for Lance’s constant complaining that his best friend betrayed him by switching to a different school. They didn’t see each other often, and when they were both in their rooms they didn’t acknowledge each other. Aside from bumping into each other at their tiny kitchenette area when they both needed the microwave, and sticking together in an unspoken show of solidarity during RA hall meetings, Keith rarely saw Lance. He heard him pretty regularly though. 

The wall that separated their bedrooms was thin, so Keith always heard him playing his music or FaceTiming his family. It was pretty annoying, but when Shiro convinced him to be a “big boy” and just talk it out, Lance was surprisingly chill about it. Apparently he didn’t realize Keith could hear him, because he never heard Keith since he didn’t listen to anything out loud. After that he kept his volume at a lower level if Keith was home, and at night he used headphones. 

Keith kinda felt like a jerk after Lance was so cool about it, so he figured he could do something nice for him like sharing an extra large pizza when he ordered one for himself during midterms. Lance looked at him like he could cry from gratitude. 

After that things started changing between them. They began asking each other if they wanted to go grab coffee between classes, and sat together if they happened to be in the dining hall at the same time. And when finals rolled around Lance invited Keith to hang out with him and have a Smash Brothers marathon just to get the stress out. It was very cathartic, and when they called it quits Lance asked if Keith wanted to watch a movie. They spent at least 40 minutes just trying to agree on one, but even their bickering was something Keith enjoyed and he could honestly say that night was one of the highlights of his freshmen year. 

So when Spring semester neared and they had the opportunity to ask for a different room, they stayed. 

Now it’s halfway through their senior year, and they live in the nice upperclassmen dorms that have “an actual stove-top, Keith! We can cook real food now!” Which translates to Lance cooking real food and Keith mooching off of him. But it’s fine, because he does all the dishes. Fairness, and all that. But despite how close they’ve gotten, and how often they hang out now, it’s like they’re freshmen again. They’re both so busy with senior thesis’ and projects and twenty page research papers. The only time they really have free to spend together is at dinner, and it’s a time Keith appreciates because they can ignore their stress in favor of eating it away. 

During the week they usually grab dinner in the dining hall since they’re already on the main campus, and because Lance is usually too tired after classes to cook. So Keith heads to their regular table by the windows, throws down his bag and goes to get in line. He loads his plate up with whatever bland mush has been placed out today, makes an extra large bowl of salad, and goes back to his table. Lance still hasn’t shown, so Keith pull out his headphones to listen to music while he eats. By the time he’s inhaled everything, Lance still isn’t there. Keith frowns and checks his phone. No text. There have been occasions one of them was late, or unable to come, but they always texted the other to let them know. He sends off his own text asking if he was gonna make it and goes to put his dishes on the return rack. When he gets back there’s still nothing. 

He loiters for a little longer as more people start showing up, but when ten more minutes pass and Lance still hasn’t responded, he figures he’s not going to come. He grabs his bag and gets up, pushes his chair in, and heads to the dessert table. He loads up a napkin with four of Lance’s favorite white chocolate chip cookies and sticks them in the safety of his bag’s side pocket. He puts his headphones back in as he walks to their dorm, pace quick to counteract the temperature dropping. It only takes twelve minutes to reach their dorm and when he gets there he checks the handle and finds it unlocked. He drops his bag off in his room, scoops out the cookies, and goes to knock on Lance’s door. 

“Lance? You home? I brought you something.”

There’s no answer for a second, but he hears a muffled voice and figures it’s safe to come in. He opens to door and sees Lance bundled up amongst his fortress of blankets and pillows, laptop open to a paused video. His arm reaches out to close it as Keith comes to sit on the edge of the bed. 

“You okay, dude? You weren’t at dinner and didn’t send a text.”

Lance peeks his head more out of the blankets so his mouth is free. 

“Sorry," he mumbles, "had a bad morning so I just skipped the rest of the day and left my phone on silent. Wasn’t even paying attention to the time.”

Keith frowns. Lance doesn’t usually skip a whole day like that, but his eyes are puffy and he just looks so tired. There’s no way for Keith to fix Lance’s bad day, but he can try making the night better. He lifts the napkin wrapped cookies up and pushes them obnoxiously close to Lance’s nose. Lance scowls and jerks back, but then his eyes widen as the smell registers. He looks up at Keith and, slowly, a smile unfolds. 

“You got me cookies?”

“Figured you’d want some. But you’re not getting them if you haven’t eaten yet today.”

He snatches them back as Lance goes to grab them, and the exaggerated whiny noise Lance makes is something he plans to make fun of him for later. For now, he stands up, leaves the room, and goes to rummage in the mini fridge. He’s pulling out cheese and butter when Lance shows up wrapped in his blanket. 

“I’m making you a grilled cheese. You can have the cookies after you eat it. Do you want soup?” 

He turns the burner on and looks over his shoulder when there’s no reply, and sees Lance standing there trying to hide a smile behind his blanket. Keith flushes and pulls out a pan. Lance steps up behind him, chest brushing his back as he reaches past Keith to grab a pot. He butters the bread as Lance pours a can of tomato soup into the pot. They work silently until it's done, and then Keith follows Lance back into his room as he pulls up a movie for them. Keith is sipping his share of the soup when Lance leans against his side. Keith smiles as Lance starts eating, and presses play.


	3. First Kiss

In his defense, it was Keith’s fault. Lance has been hounding him for _years_ about his dry skin, and this included his lips. They were always chapped, and Keith was always biting at the peeling skin. The worst of it was when he was nervous. He’d bite and pull the dry skin until it was ruby red and bleeding. It was so gross! Lance has no idea how much money he’s spent on chapstick just to give to Keith, who would use it once or twice before losing it. It drove Lance up the wall because the solution was so simple. He even got desperate enough to try putting Vaseline on Keith’s lips when he fell asleep on the couch once, hoping to heal the cracked skin, but that ended up with him getting elbowed in the throat. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for either of them. 

Other than that instance, Keith was surprisingly passive about the whole thing. He always accepted the gifts Lance gave him, and used them when he remembered, but otherwise didn’t do anything for himself. Lance just couldn’t understand why he didn’t seem to care that much. Because surely it hurt, right? On the rare occasion when his own lips became so dry they cracked, it was always painful when he went to take a bite of food or tried to smile. Pidge and Hunk like to tease that he was “weirdly obsessed” with Keith’s mouth, or just Keith in general, but Lance was a caring guy! Keith was one of his closest friends and he hated seeing him with his lips all chewed up like that. 

His friends could tease all they like, but he wouldn’t let it get to him. Taking care of people was something Lance enjoyed, one of the few things he prides himself on. Even if it was over something minor like chapped lips. Because, secretly, Lance loves doting over Keith. He didn’t really have anyone to mother over him growing up, unlike Lance who was the baby of the family and spoiled near rotten. At home the only people Lance could really shower with affection was his niece and nephew, because they were still young enough to love kisses and cuddles. Anytime one of them got hurt under his watch, he’d swoop in and give the boo-boos one of his “magical healing kissies” and they’d laugh and go back to playing. Here at college everyone was so busy trying to prove their own independence for the first time. They didn’t want someone nagging them. 

This normally included Keith, but unlike everyone else who got annoyed, Keith just got embarrassed. And since their friendship was built upon poking and prodding each other’s buttons, Lance just kept doing it. Because despite his fluster Keith never asked him to stop, and it felt good being able to care for someone who barely took care of himself. And it was how their friendship bloomed. Lance would constantly check up on Keith to make sure he was eating enough, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, and moisturizing enough. Excluding that last one, Keith always listened to him. And Lance knew deep down he appreciated it. 

So again, Lance can’t be blamed for what happened. It was just his deeply caring heart taking priority over his brain. And it was his need to poke fun of Keith who busted his lip open just from eating a burrito on their take-out night. His lips were just so dry they split when he stretched his mouth open, and Lance smugly ate his own food pain free. But it was pretty bad, to the point Keith couldn’t continue eating, so Lance got up from their trash pile on the couch and went to grab the Vaseline and a wet napkin. Keith was scowling before he sat back down. 

“Come on, don’t be such a baby.”

“That stuff is so gross Lance! It’s like congealed pudding.”

“Ew, no it’s not! Just hold still,” he commands as he settles back into his seat. He reaches out and grabs Keith’s chin with one hand to keep him still, the other coming up to gently dab at the blood on his lip. He crumples the napkin up and throws it at Keith’s chest before he pops open the Vaseline. Keith groans, loud and obnoxious and probably just meant to distract Lance from the inevitable. Lance give him a look before smirking. 

“Aww, does baby have a boo-boo? Does poor Keithy have an owie?”

Keith starts frowning before the motion pulls at his lips, and flinches. Instead he gives Lance his patented deadpan look. 

“I hate you.”

“Oh nooo, is Keithy mad? Does he need a kissie to make it all better?”

And that’s where Lance’s lapse in judgement happens. Hand still holding Keith’s chin, he leans in and presses his lips to the corner of Keith’s mouth, avoiding the injured skin. He presses his lips tighter together and leans back with a loud _mwuah!_

“There! All better!”

And that’s when Lance’s heart shoots up to his throat before dropping down to his butt. Keith is sitting there, perfectly still and staring at him with wide eyes, cheeks ruddy. Keith opens his mouth to say something, but Lance freaks out and cuts him off. 

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry dude I don’t even know why I did that. I mean I do it with the kids at home so it was sorta a reflex but I mean- I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s okay Lance, chill out. It’s, uh, not a big deal.”

“Oh, okay. Great.” 

They sit quietly, Lance avoiding looking anywhere near Keith until he sees him reach up to poke at his lips. He turns around and reaches out to tug his arm.

“Here, let me uh-”

“Oh, right. Sure.”

He holds still as Lance dips his finger into the Vaseline and brings it up to gently dab over his chapped lips. When he’s done he yanks his arm back, closes the little tub, and stands up. He starts collecting his trash pile and talks over his shoulder.

“You’ll need to let that sit for a minute, but if you want I can reheat your food for you and-”

“Lance.”

Lance gulps, and tries to steal his nerves as he turns back to Keith. He’s not sure what he’s expecting, but the shy smile on Keith’s face wasn’t it. 

“Thanks.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah, man. Anytime.”

Keith smile turns a little sharper at the corners.

“I’ll hold you to that.”


	4. Movie Night

Keith and Lance both love watching horror movies together, just as much as they like watching each other get scared. Lance says his favorite kinds are the classic slashers, with their iconic music and dramatic frights. Keith himself favors paranormal stuff, because he’s always been intrigued by ghosts and Lance has always been terrified of them. It’s the type of movie he puts on when he’s in a cuddly mood but doesn’t want to admit it.

It was their love for scary movies that led them to meeting, and eventually dating. They bumped into each other at a mutual friend’s Halloween party. While most of the guests were dancing and socializing inside, Keith and Lance were two of the only people watching the projected movie on the backyard patio. Keith ignored him at first, sipping at his drink and just trying to enjoy the cool night air away from all the loud noise. There were a few other people outside, all watching as Jamie Lee Curtis screamed on screen, but he couldn’t help but notice Lance. Whereas Keith eventually got bored watching the movie he’d seen a million times, Lance was solely focused on it. He would think the guy had never seen it before except he kept mouthing along to certain quotes. He just seemed to really enjoy watching it, which was amusing for someone wearing a hideous pineapple shirt and who had neon purple shades on his head. Keith could admit though, the warm yellow did wonders for his complexion.

At a lull in the movie the other loiterers went back inside, and Keith downed the rest of his drink before relocating himself to the couch Lance was curled up on. When he sat down Lance startled, and whipped his head to look at him. He was so much more handsome up close. Keith cleared his throat and tried to make his smile as friendly and unassuming as possible.

“Hi.”

After a moment, where Lance blinks and rakes his eyes over Keith’s face, he’s rewarded with a glittering smile in return.

“Hey.”

They passed the rest of the night out there, chatting and watching the movies as they cycled automatically to the sequels. Keith poked fun at Lance’s “obnoxious tourist” costume, and Lance mocked him for being “too cool to dress up”. And when Keith had to leave because his ride was ready to go, he left with Lance’s number in his phone.

They had their first date that weekend, and they went to go see whatever scary movie was still playing in the theater. Keith spent the majority of the time enjoying the way Lance pressed into his side at the jumpscares, and the rest of the time he tried not flinching at the surround sound screams. Lance was kind enough to ignore each time he failed.

Watching scary movies together became a routine for their date nights, and over the year they’ve been together they’ve gone through everything from the black & white oldies, to foreign scares, to movies so horrible they had to be suffered together. So with all of their experience in all things spooky, he never expected to be here, with a lap full of a crying Lance. Not that he was doing much better. His eyes were watery but have yet to spill over, unlike Lance who was all snotty and gross and rubbing his face on Keith’s shirt. He rubs Lance’s back and stares hollowly at the credits rolling. He finally speaks when he feels like his voice won't waver.

“You okay, baby?”

“_NO!_” Lance wails. Despite how sad they both were, Keith smiles at Lance’s high-pitched theatrics. He knows Lance is only doing it to cover up how hurt he’s actually feeling, so he hugs him closer.

“What the fuck, Keith!”

“I know.”

“Why would they do that?!”

“To break our hearts."

Lance sniffles, loud and drippy and sits back so Keith can see his wet ruddy cheeks. Keith coos at the sight, reaching up to wipe at his tears. Lance pouts and stares at the TV. They don’t say anything as the movie cuts off and returns to the main Netflix page. Lance stretches out over him again before going boneless.

“I have a headache now,” he admits quietly.

Keith smiles at his confession. He reaches out for the remote and puts on the boring cooking show they always put on just for background noise, turns the volume low, and goes back to comforting his boyfriend. He’s pressing little kisses to the top of his head when Lance’s scratchy voice mumbles something into the space where he’s hiding his face. Keith rubs his back and tries to tilt his head down to look at him.

“What?”

Lance lifts his head out from Keith’s neck. He sniffles again, clears his throat, and repeats himself:

“I said, do you think they were in love?”

“Who? The main girl and her friend?”

Lance nods and plops his head back down, onto Keith’s chest this time.

“Yeah. I mean, like, she did _all of that_ trying to get to her at the end.”

Keith hummed, and thought about it. But he could only concentrate on it for a short while before his throat started tightening again. The emotional wound was still too fresh.

“I don’t know, baby. But I’d believe it if they were.”

Lances sighs, and digs his chin into Keith's sternum.

“I’m sad.”

Keith laughs at Lance’s simple declaration, and wraps his arms around him as he sits up. He presses another kiss to Lance’s cheek, and pauses the show.

“Wanna order a pizza? I’m starving and need to drown my sorrows in cheese.”

Lance smiles, re-situating himself as they both straighten up.

“I thought you were out of lactaids.”

“It’s worth it. It’s an emotional emergency.”

Lance laughs, which was really the goal of Keith’s exaggerated tone. He gives Lance one last squeeze before digging his phone out of his pocket. And while Lance goes to the bathroom, he orders extra garlic knots and a couple of those mini lava cakes they both try not to indulge in. But when Lance returns and doesn’t hesitate to curl back into his side, he figures today can be an exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite kinds of horror movies are ones that scare me in the beginning but then make me cry at the end, so I wrote this inspired by that. The movie they’re referencing is called The Silenced, which is a South Korean thriller that broke my damn heart.


	5. Rain

Keith stands under the cement overhang of the art building’s back door. Water dribbles down from each side like a busted faucet, the noise deafening as it hits the pavement around him. It would be nice, a little safe pocket amongst the chaos, except he has to walk through that. His next class is in less than an hour, and he needs to go back to his dorm to grab the charger for his laptop, which is currently in his very ratty and very not water resistant backpack. He doesn’t have the time to wait it out, but he also doesn’t want to risk damaging his laptop. He could just hold his bag and hunch over, making a run for it, but it’s been raining all day,and their tiny below-sea-level college is half underwater. He knows the parking lot he usually cuts through will be flooded, and he’s wearing his comfiest sweatpants. He’ll get drenched no matter what. 

He sighs, holding a hand out to feel the heated September water flow through his fingers. He could skip. He could. But he’s already skipped twice and he can’t really afford it today since they’re supposed to be discussing the upcoming exam. So, he needs to go. But instead of making a decision, he wastes more time standing there. He looks back through the rain, and is about to adjust his bag and just run when he catches sight of neon yellow rounding the corner. A familiar neon yellow. He watches as Lance walks by in front of him, headphones on and barefoot as he wades through the marshy grass. In shorts and a thin hoodie, he doesn’t seem to mind the water at all. Keith watches as he swings the hand holding his shoes, watches as his bright umbrella shines like beacon through the downpour. And before he can think twice about it he dashes out through the rain towards him.

It’s a good thing Keith isn’t a mugger, because Lance doesn’t even notice him running until he’s bumping into his side. Lance moves away in reflex, water from his umbrella soaking Keith until he rushes closer again. Lance looks at him like he’s crazy, shoes raised between them like he’s gonna smack him, before recognition flashes across his face. 

“Keith?”

“Hey Lance. What’s up?”

Lance stares at him. He’s stopped walking, and Keith shivers underneath the safety of his umbrella. Lance tugs the headphones out of his ears and drapes them over his shoulders. Just from the short sprint Keith’s sweats are soaked up to mid-calf, and his hair drips water onto his T-shirt. Lance looks unfairly dry and unbothered in comparison. Before Lance can ask why he was charging him like a crazy person Keith speaks up.

“Is it okay if I walk back with you? I don't have an umbrella and I’ve got my laptop with me.”

The confusion clears from Lance’s face. 

“Oh! Sure man! Are you headed to the Atlas dorms?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen you in the common area so I figured you lived there too and we’re heading back?”

Lance smirks and swaps his shoes with his umbrella so it’s held between them 

“Oh, yeah? You been keeping an eye on me?”

Keith scoffs and starts walking, water sloshing up his legs and spreading higher to his knees. He grimaces. He could change when he gets to his room, but then he still has to walk back again. There’s no winning. Lance catches up and keeps pace with him, the yellow of his umbrella reflecting against the water and probably blinding any passerby. 

“It’s a small college," he defends, "I see the same people everyday.”

“Fair point. I certainly see your mullet around often enough.” 

“That joke is still just as unfunny as when you told me the first day of class.”

“_Rude!_” 

The walk doesn’t take long, even as they have to loop around the deeper puddles. Despite the fact that he commandeered Lance and his umbrella for his own personal use, he’s still mostly soaked. He takes a small grain from the bright side and tries to be thankful that his laptop is safe. When they reach the entrance to their dorm Keith tries stomping the water off his frame, while Lance shakes out his umbrella and closes it. Keith is transfixed by it, like it's putting out its own ugly, highlighter aura.

“Dude. What’s with the umbrella? It’s like, offensively bright.”

Lance’s own face brightens at the question, like he was just waiting for him to ask. 

“Well, I had a plain black one but I kept leaving it everywhere. So I got this one, because it’s literally impossible to forget when it’s blinding you. And I can always track it down if someone steals it”

“I seriously doubt anyone would want to steal that thing.”

“That's just another reason why it’s so great!”

Keith can’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. He opens the door and gestures for Lance to go first. 

“Thanks again for letting me walk with you. I needed to grab my charger for my next class.”

Lance turns to look at him from where he’s slipping his sneakers back on. 

“You still have another class?”

“Yeah, last one for the day. I’d skip but we’re reviewing for our test.”

“Oh.”

Lance stares at him a moment, head tilted, before holding out his closed umbrella. 

“Here man. You can borrow this.”

Keith stares. 

“...I refuse to hold that thing.” 

“Keith!”

Keith smiles, the offense in his voice genuine. Lance pouts. 

“Come on, man. You said you don’t have one and you still gotta go back out there. I’m done for the day. You can just give it back in class tomorrow.” Keith’s smile softens. Despite all of Lance’s teasing and class-clowning, he was a sweet guy. And he was a sweet guy with a point. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll take your ugly umbrella.”

Lance turns his nose up as Keith grabs the umbrella from him. 

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. Just don’t lose it. Or try to steal it. Because I know where you live and I won’t hesitate to break in and cause a ruckus.”

Keith laughs, suddenly and unexpectedly. Lance echoes his laugh in reply. 

“Who says ‘ruckus’ anymore?”

“Says the guy with a mullet.”

“You’ll have to let that go eventually. There’s only so many jabs you can make at my hair.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Keithy. I have many talents. Mullet talents.”

“Whatever, you weirdo," he snorts, "I’ll see you later.”

“See ya!”

Keith smiles as Lance walks the other way, shoes squeaking against the tile. Keith looks down at the yellow umbrella, and he decides today wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by true events! But my experience lacked all the fluff.


	6. Painted Rivalry AU

“You’re doing it wrong. Again.”

Lance smacks his pencil down onto the paper he was sketching on and turns to glare at Keith. 

“You keep saying that, but you’re not actually telling me what it is that I’m messing up. You just keep telling me "look at the whole picture"and "find the shape first". I don’t know what that means!”

Lance crosses his arms on the table and puts his head down. He was starting to get frustrated, his cheeks heating with embarrassment. He should have known letting Keith help him would be a mistake. It’s been an hour already and Lance is still just as sucky as he was when they started. None of the advice Keith gives him makes any sense, or translates into something he can understand. It just sounds like a bunch of pretentious know-it-all nonsense. 

The wooden bench squeaks as Keith sits next to him, and Lance’s back goes tense. He feels dumb, like he’s missing something obvious, and he doesn’t need Keith to keep telling him how bad he’s screwing up. After a moment, Keith finally speaks up. 

“Look...I’ve never had to help someone do this, so I don’t know how say the right things. I’m basically just copying what my teachers have said. Which, in hindsight, doesn’t make sense because I never listened to them anyways.”

He says it like a joke, like a peace offering. Lance turns his head on his arms and looks at Keith’s poor attempt at a friendly smile. Seeing it makes him feel bad. He rests his chin on his arm and stares at his wonky scribbles in front of him. 

“It’s not that it’s bad advice, I guess. I just don’t know what you mean by them. Like, what exactly does finding a shape _mean_?”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve never been all that great with words.” Keith looks over Lance’s drawings, before turning a page over and reaching for his pencil. “How about I just show you?”

Lance sits up higher as Keith leans back and looks at him. 

“So, let’s use you as an example. What you were doing was like tracing the outline of your body.”

He sketches exactly that, a hollow figure of Lance as he sat slumped over the table. 

“See how slow I’m going, and how shaky the lines are?”

When Lance nods, he moves over to a blank space on the paper. 

“Instead, try following very general curves, and use circles for points of interest. Like for your head, shoulders, elbows, hands, and things like that.”

Keith makes a quick curve across the paper, and then adds a circle on the top end. 

“So, this is the curve of your spine, and that’s your head. Circle where the joints are, and just make general lines for where the limbs go. It doesn’t have to be perfect, cause this is just laying down the framework and you can build on top of it.”

He draws what he’s describing, and what started out as nothing now looks like a vaguely human shaped form. 

“Don’t worry about clothes until you’ve gotten the body down first. And try not to press so hard. Always use light pencil strokes so you can add on top of each other, and go back to erase parts later on.”

He holds the pencil out. 

“Now you try, with me.”

Lance looks between the pencil, Keith, and the paper. He watched his marks carefully as he described them, and it didn’t seem too hard to replicate. He grabs the pencil and pulls a blank sheet in front of him. 

“Remember, just do simple lines to find the curve of my body. Don’t overthink it.”

Keith faces forward at that, letting Lance focus on him without feeling awkward. He takes a deep breath in, and looks at Keith. He’s sitting with his back straight, but it still curves from how his shoulders bunch where he has his arms crossed on the table. He draws that first, then adds the circle where he thinks his head goes. Then he puts circles for the shoulders, lines for his biceps and forearms, and more circles for his hands and elbows. As he’s looking over it Keith speaks up.

“Do circles for the hips too. And remember that my shoulders and hips aren’t going to be level from your perspective. They’ll be tilted.”

Lance looks up at Keith, and erases the circle for the nearest shoulder and draws it a little further over. Then he does his hips and legs in simple swipes of his pencil. When he’s done he sits back and looks at the sketch he just made, and then at the ones he was doing earlier. 

“Oh my god.”

Keith looks at his paper, and his mouth softens into the most genuine smile Lance has ever seen on him. 

“That’s it! That’s really good Lance.”

Lance feels his cheeks heat again, a different kind of embarrassment making his heart beat faster. 

“It’s not that great. My lines are still wobbly and there’s no detail.”

“That doesn’t matter, you did a hell of a lot better than you did earlier, and progress is progress.”

Lance can’t help from smiling at the praise, and he figures Keith deserves his own credit.

“Well, it was a lot easier when you showed me how to do it first.”

Keith nods. He pulls Lance’s paper closer to him to inspect the lines. 

“I’ll just do that from now on then. You picked it up so fast, you’ll be a natural in no time.”

Lance’s smile dropped in surprise. 

“You want to keep teaching me? You don’t have to-“

“I don’t mind. As long as you want me to. You’ve got a lot of potential.” 

Lance’s smile regrows. He’s heard that line from almost every teacher he’s ever had, but from Keith, he felt like for the first time he could truly believe it.  
He shuffles the papers in front of him into a neat pile, a blank page on top. He picks his pencil back up and looks to Keith. 

“Alright Mr. Mullet, what’s next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU was created by [Creantzy](https://www.instagram.com/creantzy/) on Instagram, the same person who made the prompt list.


	7. Pining

Keith sits in front of the galactic communicator, Kosmo at his side, pouting. 

“Stop pouting grumpy-pants. It’s only for an extra day.”

“I’m not pouting.” Except he was. “And it’s just a little electrical storm. We’ve literally been through worse without any ships.”

Lance rolls his eyes, the poor connection between them making his holographic projection glitch. 

“Yeah, a little electrical storm than spans light years. Also, we didn’t do that by choice. These ships aren’t as strong as the lions were, or even the Atlas. There’s no point in taking unnecessary risks when we’ll only be delayed a day.”

Keith sighs, and looks away to rub his hand through Kosmo’s coarse fur. He’s even bigger than the last time Lance saw him, and at this point Keith isn’t sure he’ll ever stop growing. 

“I know. It’s just sucky timing.”

“Don’t worry baby boy. I’ll be home soon”

Keith’s cheeks burn and he throws a glare at Lance. 

“Stop.”

Lance laughs, and even cracking and stuttering it still makes his heart ache to hear it. They haven’t seen each other in person for about 3 months now. While he’s been working on building new homes a few galaxies over, Lance was planet hopping to deliver medical supplies to those still recovering from the war. Today was supposed to be the day they both returned to Earth and took some time off. Because despite how busy they both usually are, it’s the longest they’ve been apart since getting together. He arrived at their little house this morning and was just waiting for Lance to call so he could go pick him up from the Garrison, only now he had to spend a whole day in their home without him. It was too quiet, a loneliness he thought he outgrew starting to get to him. He re-settles himself in the seat, and pulls out his best puppy eyes. 

“You know, I’m sure Allura wouldn’t mind opening a private wormhole for you guys-”

“Absolutely not” Lance quickly cuts off. “We all agreed we wouldn’t abuse our connections like that unless it was an emergency.”

Keith drops the act and goes back to pouting. 

“What’s the point of saving the universe with a magical space princess if you won’t even let her use her powers when it’d make our lives so much easier?”

Lance smiles at him, before looking to Kosmo. His ears perk up when Lance says his name.

“Hey Kosmo, can you give this big baby some love for me?”

Before Keith can say anything, Kosmo is sliding his slimy tongue across the entirety of Keith’s face. He’d try to stop him, except he knows it’d be futile. This is just his life now. He wipes the excess drool off with his sleeve, Kosmo panting hot air onto the side of his face while Lance beams at him. 

“Good boy!”

Kosmo shakes himself out as he stands up, before disappearing in a flash of light. 

“I’m gonna have him sit on you when you get here. See how you like it."

Lance gasps, loud and scandalized. He puts a hand over his heart. 

“Um! That would kill me, Keith! That’s premeditated murder and I’m afraid I’ll have to report you to the intergalactic federation.”

Keith laughs, and misses him more. Age has definitely made him soft. Or maybe it’s just Lance. When he calms down he sees Lance smiling, all sappy and sweet. 

“See? A laughing Keith is much better than a pouting one.”

“Not pouting” he lies quickly. 

Lance doesn’t believe him, and it shows in his face, but he doesn’t say anything. 

“Why don’t you go hang out with Shiro and Adam tonight? You can mooch dinner off of them, have a beer or two, get a good night’s sleep and I’ll be back before you know it.”

Keith leans back in his chair, considering. He looks at the time and sees that’s in only just past noon. If he sits here all day he’ll go crazy. 

“Well, they did offer for us to stop by if we wanted, but I figured we’d both be tired and would just want a night in together. But I guess I could call them and see what they’re up to.”

“You should! And take Kosmo and have him slobber them for me.”

“I’ll be sure to.”

Lance looks off to the side, and he nods. He turns back to Keith with an apologetic grin. 

“I’m gonna have to go here soon, babe. The storm’s getting close and we’re gonna shut down the comms so they don’t get fried.”

Keith frowns at the information, even though he already knew it.

“Okay. But make sure to call me-”

“I’ll call you as soon as we get on the other side” Lance continues. “And because I know you’ll try to stay up but will fall asleep anyway, I’ll send a message too.”

“Good. Be careful out there.”

Lance smiles. 

“I will.”

Kosmo pops back into existence at Keith side, throwing his upper half on Keith’s lap and stuffing his face with fur. Lance coos and makes kissy noises as Keith suffocates. 

“Aww I miss you too buddy! I’ll see you soon! Give everyone love for me!”

Kosmo huffs out a loud breath and Keith struggles to shift him off to the side. When he can breath again he sees Lance’s image glitching again, worse than before. 

“Alright, I’ll let you go now. The connection is starting to cut out.”

“Okay. I love you, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you too. See you.”

Lance waves and the image cuts off. Keith deflates, and tries not to be too bummed out. It’s one day. He can survive one day. Kosmo places his head on his lap, and Keith ruffles his ears. 

“We can hold the fort down by ourselves just for tonight, right?”

Kosmo stares at him. Keith sighs. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go bother Shiro and Adam.”

Kosmo stands, and when Keith braces a hand on his back they disappear. And if Adam and Shiro scream when Kosmo is suddenly taking up all the space in their tiny living room, then it’s just a funny story he can tell Lance when he sees him tomorrow.


	8. Meme/Vine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those awkwardly formatted ones, because I wasn't sure what to write for this prompt, but it's just for the first part of the chapter.

Since Lance is the best uncle and he loves his niece and nephew more than anything, he’s always the one who ends up babysitting them. (The fact that he’s the baby of the family and therefore has no other choice is irrelevant). But it’s fine, because Sylvio and Nadia are the chillest little kids. Both are generally mild mannered, and they’re really good at entertaining themselves. And when they get a little too rowdy, there’s always the infallible Plan B: cartoons. 

All Lance has to do is flip on any channel with cartoons and it’s like they become hypnotized. Even if they’re in the middle of fighting, it only takes a funny noise or familiar voice from the TV and all their anger slowly peters out. They’ll keep sneaking looks to the TV until they can’t look away, and move to sit closer. It’s honestly amazing, and now Lance knows how his parents were able to keep their own rowdy kids calm. 

Because of this Lance knows all of the little kid cartoons, and he knows all of their theme songs as well. He doesn’t hesitate to bust out singing when he gets reminded of them, which Keith is always groaning about. Because it happens All. The. Time. 

One day Shiro stops by their place, to ask a favor of them:

Shiro: Hey can you guys watch the cat for a week? Adam and I are going on a trip to see his mom and-

Lance, bouncing: We’re going on a trip~ in our favorite rocket ship~ 

Keith, sighing: Lance 

Lance, bouncing faster: soARING THROOOUUGH THE SKY~ LITTLE EINSTEINS~

Keith and Lance when they’re washing dishes together: 

Keith: You’ve got bubbles in your hair

Lance: Bub bub bubble~ guppy guppy guppy~

Keith, smiling: Oh my god

Lance, swinging his hips: Bubble bubble bubble~ guppy guppy guppy~

While they’re playing with Shiro’s cat: 

Keith: I’m glad Kosmo is being super chill

Lance: Right? I was kinda worried since this little princess is so feisty 

Keith: Yeah. It’s kinda funny how she keeps trying to fight him when she’s barely the size of his paw

Lance: Paw patrol!~ paw patrol!~

Keith, laughing: Lance I swear to god 

Lance: Be there on the double!~

While they're trying to give Kosmo a bath:

Keith: Grab the shampoo!

Lance: I have the shampoo!! Hold him still!!

Keith: I'm trying! You have to help I can’t do it by myself!!

Lance: ...

Keith: No

Lance: What’s gonna work~

Keith: LANCE HE’S ABOUT TO ESCAPE

Lance: TEEAAAMWORK~

Keith: LANCE!

Lance: THIS. IS. SEWIOUS~ 

Keith sprays him with the hose. 

It’s an endless nightmare for Keith, as he likes to say, but Lance knows better. Keith can act like he’s only tolerating his antics all he likes, but he can’t deny the smiles Lance keeps catching him trying to hide. 

And then, on one bright winter day towards the end of their Christmas break, it happens. 

They just got back to their house after spending the week with Lance’s family. They have two days to relax before they go spend New Years with Keith’s mom, and they both plan to sleep for most of that time. Lance’s parents kept them both busy with cooking and decorating and last minute present wrapping. They were up late each night, and woken up early by the kids each morning. 

Keith hops in the shower first, and Lance takes the time to unpack and throw their dirty clothes in the wash. He grabs clean pajamas for Keith and goes to set them on the bathroom counter. 

“Hey babe, got you some clothes.”

“Thank you,” comes the sleepy reply. 

It makes Lance smile. They’re both so tired after the drive, and since they stopped for dinner before getting home he’s sure they’ll both pass out as soon as they get into bed. He’s pulling out his own clean pajamas and face wash when he hears the water shut off. After a few minutes Keith walks into the room, hair dripping and humming quietly under his breath. It’s a familiar tune, but Lance doesn’t have the mental capacity to place it right now as Keith grabs his toothbrush from their bag and goes back to the bathroom. 

Lance follows, and turns the shower back on to let it warm up. He shucks off his clothes and is stepping into the shower when he hears Keith mumbling, words almost inaudible as he’s brushing his teeth. But Lance hears it. 

“Cause bedtime, is the right time, to fight crime...”

He whips around, gripping the wall to keep from falling over, and points an accusing finger at Keith. 

“I CAN’T THINK OF A RHYME! HA!!”

Keith startles at his shout and chokes on the toothpaste foam. He rinses out his mouth, then turn to stare at Lance with bewildered eyes. 

“Why are you yelling? And why are you just standing there naked??”

“You were singing a little kid song!”

Keith looks at him, panicked and caught in the act. His eyes dart to the door, his only escape route, and Lance throws his body there so he can’t make a break for it. He ignores the water dripping down one of his legs as Keith groans. 

“Admit it!” Lance beams. 

“Alright! Fine! I was humming a little kid song. Whatever! I don’t even know which show it’s to-”

“You can never hate on my singing ever again!” Lance laughs, a little manically. A little sleepy. Maybe a lot sleepily.

Keith rolls his eyes and goes to move past Lance, hands on his hips to guide him back to the shower. 

“Not like I hated it in the first place.” He grumbles. 

Lance smiles at him, and kisses his cheek before he steps back in the shower. He’s gonna cuddle the heck out of that boy when he gets out.


	9. Game AU (Stardew Valley)

Lance gets back to their dorm room two days before Spring Break ends to find Keith stretched out across his bed. Not exactly unusual, since that’s where they pile up to watch movies. And it was where they sometimes, maybe, kinda cuddled. He wasn’t sure what to call it, because they weren’t technically dating yet, but they were something. An almost. A nearly there. 

What was strange was that he didn’t know why Keith was on his bed at this very moment, but then he caught sight of the red and blue joycons in his hands and saw what was on the TV. 

“Oh my god. You finally caved.”

“I got bored” Keith keeps his eyes on the screen as he replies, focused on not dying to red slimes. He shrugs and furrows his brows. Lance drops his bag on the ground and excitedly jumps on the bed, Keith bouncing with him and distracting him enough to get hit.

“Sorry!” Lance exclaims as Keith shoots him a dirty look.

Lance sits quietly, side pressed warmly to Keith’s, until he reaches a level with an elevator and the questions spill out.

“How long have you been playing? What day are you on? Is it still Spring? Have you done any of the festivals yet? Have you started dating anyone yet? How’d you find a tiny pixel mullet for your character-”

Keith pauses the game and sighs as Lance keeps talking, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. Because Lance has been bugging Keith for ages to play this game, because he just _knew_ Keith would enjoy it. And Keith kept saying that he wasn’t interested in "some lame farming game". _Shows him_, Lance thinks smugly. When he stops his barrage of questions to breath Keith starts answering them, but the one Lance is really interested in is if Keith has started leveling up his friendships and seen any heart events. 

“I haven’t focused on that too much," he says, "I gave the homeless guy some food though, and got a cutscene. I think that raised my friendship with him?”

Lance’s heart coos a little, because Linus was the first friend he made when he started the game, so it’s nice to know it’s like that for Keith too. 

“But no one's caught your eye?”

“Kinda hard to when they’re all assholes.”

Lance laughs, and nudges his elbow into Keith’s side. 

“Some of them you just have to get to know first, but they’re not all like that!”

“Who’d you date then?”

Lance feels his cheeks heat suddenly, unprepared for the question. He dated almost everyone because he was really into the heart scenes, but in the end he married Sebastian: the resident bad boy, secret nerd, and motorcycle junkie. And Lance married him because he reminded him so much of Keith.

He did it before they became whatever they were now, because he was crushing pretty hard. But when they started getting closer, Lance forgot all about it as he kept pushing Keith to play the game. The first time he seemed even _slightly_ interested, Lance suddenly remembered and may have mildly panicked and divorced Sebastian. And then remarried just to cover all bases. 

The last thing he wanted was for Keith to find out about that. The teasing would never end.

“I ended up marrying Elliot.”

“The writer dude?” Keith’s face suddenly scrunched up all adorably. “But he’s old!”

“He’s not old!” Lance said in very real offense, “Elliot’s just very mature. He like, has an old soul.”

“Isn’t that just writer talk for being pretentious?”

“No!”

Keith snorts, and unpauses the game to rush back home before his character passes out from exhaustion. Lance makes comments on his treasures from the mines, and they sit quietly as the game saves and loads up the next day. When Keith shows him his farm, Lance busts out laughing. He hasn’t cleared out any trees or rocks, he has no animals, and his only crop was 50 eggplants. 

“Why haven’t you cleaned up your farm? Why do you only have _eggplants??_ ”

“Because they’re the cheapest!” Keith defends, “and all the debris kept coming back so I just left it.”

“What about the community center?”

“What about it? Isn’t it abandoned? Or haunted?”

“Oh my god. What have you been doing all this time? Because you’re somehow already at the end of Fall, so I’m assuming you’ve done nothing but play this for the past week.”

Keith focuses on picking all his crops, and goes to check the cave for mushrooms. 

“I like the mines. It’s cool finding all the gems and stuff. And the combat is fun, I didn’t know this game had it.” 

Lance smiles, glad to see he’s taken so well to the game. The last month was stressful for him, which was why Lance kept bugging him to play it. He’s happy Keith is free from midterms and finally relaxed. 

“Just wait until you get to Skull Cavern. And get the galaxy sword, you’ll really love that. You know, once you actually use the community center and unlock everything.”

Keith flicks his eyes over to him, interested, then turns back to the game. Keith plays for another hour, and stops after the spirit festival where Lance tells him how to get to the golden pumpkin. 

When the food they decided to order finally arrives Lance pulls up YouTube and shows Keith a video of how to get all the Stardrops, and lets the related videos autoplay. They slump against each other when they’re done eating, and Lance is so warm and sleepy. 

He’s starting to drift off when Keith speaks up. 

“You know, you kind of remind me of the green dude.”

Lance blinks awake, and rolls his head off Keith’s shoulder to look at him. He’s staring at the video currently playing, showing how to find the rare fishes, and if Lance were a little more awake he’d assume the pink on his cheeks was a blush. He yawns and straightens up, twisting his spine to pop the joints. 

“What green dude?” He mumbles. 

“The guy that always has a football.”

“Uh, Alex? I do?”

Keith nods. He gets a wistful little smile on his face that Lance is captivated by. 

“Yeah. Just like you, he was an arrogant little shit when we met-“

“Hey!” 

“But he’s also sweet. Works hard despite what happened with his dad, just wanting to prove he’s good enough. It’s pretty admirable.”

Keith peeks at him, and Lance feels flushed hot. He doesn’t really know what to say to that, but hearing it makes his heart feel all gooey. He clears his throat. 

“Well, you could always date him if you- hey, wait!”

He shoots forward to sit on his knees, turning to face Keith and poking his chest. 

“The thing with his dad is a heart event! You said you didn’t make friends with anyone yet!”

Keith smiles, deliberately poking Lance back as he says “I lied”.

Lance huffs and crosses his arms, flopping back on his bed and kicking his legs out over Keith’s. Keith pats his knee and goes back to watching the video. 

“But, maybe you’re right. Maybe I should date him.”

Lance can’t help but smile, and when he lifts his head Keith is smiling too. He leaves his hand resting on Lance's knee. Lance considers, biting his lip and focusing intently on where he can feel the heat of Keith’s palm through his pants. He takes a deep breath.

“You know, Alex’s last heart event when you’re dating him is a romantic dinner at the saloon. That’d be pretty easy to recreate.”

He feels Keith’s fingers twitch on his knee, before he gives it a small squeeze.

“I don’t think there’s an actual saloon around here? But there’s that new Irish pub we’ve been wanting to try?”

Lance smiles at Keith’s serious thinking face. 

“That’s true. We can check it out tomorrow? If you want.”

Keith is definitely blushing now. When Lance points it out, feeling giddy, Keith tilts his body sideways until he’s laying curled around Lance. He hides his face on Lance’s chest, while Lance wraps him in his arms. Okay, Lance admits, it’s cuddling.

Keith mumbles, “Looking forward to it.”


	10. In Your Clothes

Keith is browsing the chip aisle, waiting until something catches his interest, when his phone chimes. He digs it out of his pocket and sees that Lance is calling. He answers while considering a bag of spicy kettle chips. 

“Hey.”

“Hey, babe! I just got your text. Are you still at the store?”

Keith grabs the kettle chips, drop them into his cart, and moves on.

“Yeah, just grabbing some snacks. Did you think of anything you need?” 

“Did you get more dish soap?”

“Yup” Keith responds, and grabs a bag of pretzels. “They didn’t have the green apple one you like, but they had a new pomegranate one that smells pretty good.”

“That’s fine. What about juice?”

Keith looks down at the cranberry juice, half buried under a bag of apples and some cheese. 

“Roger that.” 

He hears Lance snort, and smiles a little. 

“I also grabbed chips and pretzels, and I know we still have some sodas. Can you think of anything else we might wanna munch on this weekend?”

“Ummmm… can you grab some more hummus? I’m almost out.”

“The red pepper kind?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I just need to grab that and I’ll check out. See you back home. Love you.”

“Love you too!”

Keith hangs up and stuffs his phone back into his pocket. He loops back around to the produce aisle to grab the hummus, and then heads towards the blessedly empty check-out lanes. He makes small talk with the little old cashier as he loads his items onto the conveyor belt, and fights a blush when she winks at him while scanning a box of condoms. He somehow always gets the giggling grannies that act a little too cheeky for his comfort. Always. Lance thinks he exaggerates. He’s just thankful he didn’t need any lube this time.

He waits patiently as she bags his items, thanks her, and speed walks away from her knowing smile. The drive home is slow, the roads crowded with all the people getting off of work. It takes an extra ten minutes to make it back to his apartment complex, and after he’s finally pulled into the parking lot he breathes out a big sigh of relief. He hefts the grocery bags into his arms and heads inside the building. 

He jabs his elbow at the elevator button until it connects, and shuffles in as it opens. When he gets to his floor he heads all the way down the hall to his apartment, and knocks his boot against the door. He hears the shuffle of Lance’s slippers on the wooden floor, before the lock turns and the door opens. Lance is already smiling as he’s opening the door, stepping back to let Keith in before he freezes. He doesn’t move away from the entryway, so Keith is stuck standing there, the plastic of the bags digging into his forearms as Lance stares at him.

“...What?” he asks.

Did he have something on his face? Did he forget to brush his hair again?

“Please tell me you didn’t wear that in public.”

Keith scrunches his brows at Lance’s statement, and looks down at his clothes. He doesn’t see anything wrong with them. There’s no weird stains, or holes, or any funky graphics. It’s just black on grey on black. It’s pretty much the plainest that clothes can be. 

He looks back up to see Lance’s judgey face. He normally enjoys Lance’s judgey face, because it usually emerged when they saw people doing strange things like when they saw their neighbor rub peanut butter on his bike handles. So the fact that his judgey face was now directed at him seemed a little unwarranted. 

“Yeah? What’s wrong with it?”

Lance throws his arms out in front of him, waving them around and gesturing to Keith.

“Dude, you literally wore those to bed last night!”

Keith scoffs and lifts one arm laden with bags, shoving them against Lance’s chest so he can take them. Lance does, even while grumbling, and Keith redistributes the weight of the bags from his other arm. 

“Is that all?”

“_Is that all_ he says!” Lance mocks as he places the bags on the kitchen island. Keith kicks the door closed and relocks it. He puts his bags down next, and stretches out his arms and back. They start unloading the bags and putting groceries away, and Keith looks at his clothes. He’s just wearing a plain black tee shirt, and his grey jogger pants.

It is what he wore to bed, but it’s not like he’s done anything to get them dirty. It’s barely noon! He only wore them to the store because he would have put them back on when he returned had he changed clothes anyway. It’s pretty regular day off lounge wear. And it’s not like he went to a fancy rich people whole food vegan store. It was just a Walmart! There are way more people who are far more weirdly dressed than him on any given day. 

But Lance is still mumbling to himself about it, so Keith rolls his eyes. He finishes putting away the groceries and bundles all the bags together. Then he goes over and wraps Lance in his arms while his back is turned. Lance squeals as Keith spins them around, his slippers offering no traction. Keith braces his feet, making sure he’s steady, and then lifts Lance off the ground. Despite his hollering Lance tucks his legs up to his chest so he’s easier to hold, and Keith rocks him side to side until Lance concedes defeat. When he does he presses a kiss to the back of Lance’s neck and lets him go. 

As soon as he’s free, Lance tugs the bottom of his silky robe back down and turns his flustered face to him. He smiles as Lance swats his arm. 

“I just showered! I’m not wearing anything underneath of this!”

“Oh?”

He makes a playful swipe at the robe’s belt, Lance making such a panicked face and jumping away he can’t help but laugh. 

“And you judge me for what I’m wearing?”

“Okay, but I didn’t wear this out in public.”

“You could,” he says with a quick tilt of his mouth.

Lance scoffs, and starts walking to the bathroom before calling his bluff. 

“Please. You’d let me go out in just this?”

He pauses halfway down the hall and strikes a pose, bracing an arm on the wall and sticking his leg out. The slit of the robe breaks over his thigh, the long line of his leg looking shiny and smooth as he throws a smirk over his shoulder. Keith’s mind blanks a moment, but it’s long enough for Lance to prove his point. He busts out in laughter, and Keith immediately chases after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bum that wears pajamas to the store and likes wearing robes.


	11. Wedding

Keith is still glaring at his homework when his Pop calls him for dinner. He snatches the paper and drags it with him to the table, where the smell of bbq chicken and roasted potatoes momentarily distracts him from his grumpy mood. He grabs his fork and spears five pieces of diced potatoes and stuffs them in his mouth, chewing quickly and with his mouth open to counteract how they burned his tongue. 

“Slow down there, bud” comes the laughing voice behind him, “foods not going nowhere.” 

Keith swallows and goes for the chicken next, slower this time as a glass of water is put down in front of him. 

“Fanksh.”

He gets a light slap on the back of the head for that. 

“No talking with your mouth full.”

Keith nods his head instead, and washes the food down with his water as his Pop moves his paper away from the danger zone. 

“Do you need any help with your homework tonight?”

Just like that his grumpiness returns. He turns to his Pop as he sits down with his own food, and starts gesturing with his fork. 

“It’s so dumb!"

“Keith-” comes the Disapproving Dad Voice. 

“Mrs. Ronna wanted us to make a family tree, so I did, but she got all mad because I didn’t put anything for the mother’s side. I told her you weren’t married, and she made me sit inside for recess for "talking back". But I was just telling her the truth!”

Pop sighs, and Keith feels some of the steam leave him. He always felt bad bringing up family stuff, because his Pop never liked talking about it. Aside from a grandpa who wanted nothing to do with them for reasons Keith didn’t understand, it was just them two. All they had was each other, and Keith never thought of it as a problem until other people brought it up. He knew, in theory, he had a mom out there somewhere. And that she wasn’t able to be here. But he also knew, because of how often he was reminded, that she loved him a lot and would be here if she were able to. 

Keith mushes his potatoes under the tines of his fork, and scoops some into his mouth. He waits until he’s swallowed to speak.

“Sorry.”

Pop smiles, that soft one that comes out when they fall into this discussion. He reaches out and ruffles Keith’s hair. 

“Don’t worry about it. Finish your dinner, and we’ll work on the homework together.”

Keith smiles back, and digs into his food. After they finish eating, and Keith gets a bath, he settles on the floor in front of the coffee table and re-tackles his homework. He gets help filling in more of his father’s side of the family, which is nice but makes the mother’s side look even emptier. After he finishes writing in his great-grandfather’s name, he looks back at his Pop to see him staring down at the paper. 

“Okay. Anyone else?”

Pop scratches his beard, and lets out a deep breath. 

“Krolia.”

“Is that my great-grandma?” Keith asks, turning back to the paper.

“No. Your mother.”

Keith freezes, staring at the paper and unable to move, to breathe, to even think. He’s never heard her name before, despite having asked when he was younger. He doesn’t know why he’s being told now. 

He still hasn’t moved when he feels a large, warm hand rest on his nape and give a comforting squeeze. He finally looks up, and only realizes his eyes are watery when a fat tear plops on the paper. 

“Aww, bud.”

He’s suddenly wrapped up in his Pop’s arms as he sinks down onto the floor next to him, and Keith rubs his face on his chest. 

They sit there quietly, Keith sniffling and taking comfort in the hand rubbing up and down his back. He’s not even sure why he’s crying. When he’s calmed down he pulls away and stares at the paper. The name, her name, keeps running through his head. He picks his pencil up again but doesn’t move to write anything yet. 

“Do you need help spelling it?”

He does, but that’s not why he’s hesitating. His mother has always been this unreachable form, something that didn’t really exist outside his imagination because he couldn’t see or touch her. But writing it down made it so real. He didn’t have a face, or a voice, and for the longest time didn’t have a name. But he had it now, a tiny puzzle piece that makes up who he is and where he came from. He’s not sure how he’s feeling, other than overwhelmed. 

But he swallows the lump in his throat, puts the tip of his pencil on the paper, and looks up at his Pop. He smiles, and says each letter of the name out loud. Keith writes it out, and stares at the word when he’s done. It’s not like any name he’s heard of before. He pronounces it inside his head, and when he’s ready, says it out loud. It sounds strange in his tiny voice, lacking the warmth and weight it had when his Pop said it. But it feels good to say it, to know. And he knows what it’s worth. He puts his pencil down and turns to wrap his arms around Pop’s neck. 

“Thank you” he whispers. 

He’s held closer and tighter in a hug unlike any he’s had before. 

~14 years later~

“How are you crying?” Keith laughs. “I’m not even dressed yet.”

“I know” Krolia says, smiling, unashamed at the burn in her eyes. She comes closer and brushes the hair back from his face, tucks it behind his ears. Keith lets her fuss, and keeps still when she holds his face between her hands. She takes a deep breath. 

“I just never thought I’d be lucky enough to experience one of these moments.”

“What do you mean?” 

She stares quietly, eyes scanning over his face. She rubs her thumb across his cheeks and he smiles. She’s only gotten more affectionate over the years, and he never thought he’d enjoy it as much as he did. He watches as she blinks away the tears in her eyes, and reaches up to grip her wrists.

“Just, any moment like this. An important, life-changing moment. When I first left Earth, I resigned myself to all the things I was giving up in order to keep you and your father safe. But there were some things I didn’t consider. Like how I’d miss your first words, or the first time you laughed. When you got hurt. What your favorite book was. When-“

She hesitates, and Keith gives her wrists a small squeeze. 

“When you lost your father, and only had yourself to rely on. I've missed several important moments in you life. I suppose I’m just thankful that I get to be a part of this one.”

He smiles, unable to believe how lucky he is either. And if his eyes get watery too, well, his mom is the only one to see. 

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I never thought I’d be able to do something like this. I hate that Pop isn’t here, but I’m so glad you are.”

Krolia releases his face to wrap her arms around him instead. He hugs her back and ignores the sniffle he hears. He never thought he’d be able to meet his mom, but he did. He didn’t think his life would go anywhere after his Pop passed away, but it did. He wasn’t sure he’d to survive the war, but he did. And he didn’t think he’d be brave enough to do something as simple as hold Lance’s hand, but he did. All those years ago. And now they’re getting _married_.

Something heavy bubbles up in his throat, and he closes his eyes as they pool with tears. He knew that everyone was going to be emotional, and he was no exception. He just didn’t expect it to be so much. His life is at a stage of peace and happiness he never could have dreamed of as a kid. He’s a step away from everything being perfect, and it’s too good to believe. He squeezes Krolia harder then lets go, wiping his tears. Rachel is going to be here soon for some “minor makeup enhancements”, as Lance described, and having a wet face probably won’t be beneficial to that. 

He clears his throat and looks in the mirror. His face is shiny, hair unbrushed, and since he’s waiting until the last possible second to put his nice suit on to avoid stains he’s just wearing a hoodie and jeans. He looks weirdly normal. Not a groom, a leader, or a Paladin. Just a person. Just Keith. The thought makes him smile when he hears a quick knock on the door. 

Before he can say anything the door is opening and Shiro is sticking his head inside. He frowns as soon as his eyes land on Keith. 

“You're not dressed yet? Have you even brushed your hair?”

Keith rolls his eyes but can’t help but smile. If anything Shiro has been the worst about being a mother-hen than anyone else during the entire engagement process. He’s the first person Keith told after the proposal, and Keith still gets choked up thinking of how hard he cried. The big baby. He’s shoved aside as Rachel pushes her way into the room, scans a critical eye over Keith, and tsks. 

“Good thing I finished early with Lance. We’ve got work to do.”

Keith frowns as she drops a large box on the bed, opening it to reveal all kinds of colorful bottles and tubes. He groans as she pushes him down into a chair, Shiro wandering over to whisper with Krolia about the speeches they have planned. He doesn’t want to think of the embarrassing things they’ll say, so he focuses on Rachel spraying something in his hair and brushing it out. 

He gets lost in the soothing motion when Rachel speaks up. 

“Are you nervous?”

He catches her eyes through the mirror, a teasing look on her face. 

“No, not really” he replies. “I’m just excited.”

“Really?” She pauses, hairbrush idling. 

“Yeah. I’m excited to be married. I’m excited for all of my friends and family to be here when I rub cake in his face. I’m excited to go on our honeymoon. I’m excited to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“That’s really sweet, Keith. I’m so happy for you two.” She resumes the brushing, “just a warning though. Lance is planning to shove cake in your face too. So make sure the photographer gets some pictures of you both beforehand, otherwise our mom will never forgive you.”

He chuckles.

“Will do.”

He sits and endures as Rachel does some complicated braided updo for his hair, and tries not to breathe when she puts a translucent powder over his face. When she finishes his mom and Shiro walk her out so they can go get into position. He puts on his suit, ties his tie, clips his cufflinks, takes a deep breath, and faces the mirror once more. For the tiniest second, he sees his Pop in his own reflection. Not by much, since his features obviously favor Krolia, but he still sees it. In his eyes, and the cut of his jaw. A gasp clogs his throat, and he almost cries again. Sheer will is the only thing that stops him, because he knows it’d smudge his mascara and Rachel would kill him. 

He fights the tears, and the lump in his throat, and smiles instead. 

He moves to his duffel bag, and digs through it until he finds the old, torn photograph tucked away in an old book given to him by Shiro. He salvaged the picture from his home after the war, a freeze frame of his Pop holding him as a baby with the fire station as the backdrop. It’s the only picture he was able to recover, the only thing he has left of that time besides memories. 

He’s kept the photo with him ever since discovering it. He had it scanned and digitally saved, but he loved being able to hold it in his hands. Lance even had the image enlarged and framed, presenting it to Keith for his first birthday during their relationship. He smiles at the memory, and thinks about all of the pictures they’ve taken together since then, thinks about all the photos they will continue to take. He presses a kiss to the picture, a small prayer for luck. 

“I miss you, Pop. I wish you could have met Lance. I know you would have loved him. I do, more than anything else in this universe.”

He tucks the photo into his shirt pocket, patting his hand over it to match the steady beat of his heart. He looks back at his reflection one more time, adjusts his tie, and smiles. 

He heads out the door and walks down the hall, just as he hears music begin to play.


	12. In Your Town

“What if the power cuts out?”

Lance waves his elbow at the wall, continuing to fold laundry while answering Keith’s questions.

“We have a generator, but I don’t think we have to worry about that. Power held last year and it was a Cat 4.”

“But can’t Category 2 hurricanes still get winds over 100mph? Powerlines can still go down.”

Lance lets the shirt in his hands unravel as he smiles over at Keith. He’s sitting on the other end of the couch and flipping between news channels while Lance folds clothes. He’s practically been glued to his phone looking up storm facts since they got here, and it’s really amusing to see him so concerned. They’re barely going to get the outer edges of the rainbands, but Keith has been acting like they’re about to face Armageddon. They have three days before the weather kicks up, and Keith has been asking every ‘what if’ question he can think of. Before Lance can answer his current one, he thinks of another.

“What if it floods? Should we go get sandbags?”

Lance almost laughs aloud at that one. 

“Babe, we’re not that close to the coast. And even if we were the tide isn’t supposed to get that high here.”

“But it’s still gonna rain-”

“_Babe._”

Lance lets the shirt drop unfolded onto a finished pile of clothes on the coffee table and scoots down the couch. He plucks Keith’s phone out of his hands, snatches the remote to change the channel, and tosses them behind him. Then he plops his whole body against Keith. He lets out a noise akin to a deflating balloon as he’s squished between Lance and the couch. Instead of pushing him off or wriggling away though, Keith accepts Lance’s antics. He turns his body so he can lean his back against the arm of the couch, and pulls Lance against his chest. Lance lets out a happy little noise at the motion. He kicks his legs up behind him on the couch, and lays his head on Keith’s chest for some impromptu cuddling. 

Their relationship is still new enough that they keep the PDA to a minimum, so they’ve been sneaking kisses and only cuddle when they go to sleep at night. At most they sit squished together on the couch when his family is around, so he’s missed being able to just lay all over Keith whenever he pleases. 

They currently have the house to themselves for the first time since Lance convinced Keith to spend Thanksgiving with him and his family. His parents are currently over at a friend’s house, Rachel is at the mall with Veronica, Marco isn’t on break until tomorrow, and Luis and the kids can’t come visit until Christmas because of their weird school schedules. They’d be alone for at least another hour, and Lance had no plans to move until then. 

His body melts as Keith starts gently scraping his nails through his hair, brushing it back from his face and probably making it stick up awfully. Lance is too comfortable to care, and he rubs his cheek against Keith’s shirt to let out some of the excess affection that’s been building up. Keith lets a quick breath of amusement puff out of him, and he leans down to press a kiss to the top of Lance’s head. In response Lance shoots up on his elbows, presses his own kiss to Keith’s mouth, then drops back down to snuggle. His body moves with Keith’s as he laughs, and Lance grins. 

He shifts when he feels Keith move under him, pulling his own legs up on the couch and stretching out. Lance settles down when he feels Keith place a hand on his back, stroking up and down his spine. Lance closes his eyes, perfectly content to doze until his parents get home. But then keith speaks up. 

“What about tape on the windows? In case they break?”

Lance groans. When he looks up Keith has his phone hovering over their heads in one hand, the other suddenly pressing down between Lance’s shoulder blades. As if that could stop him. Lance digs his chin into Keith, making him flinch and let up the weight on his back. Lance uses the opportunity to sit up and swing a leg over Keith so he’s sitting on his stomach. He braces his knee on the the couch and plants his other foot on the floor, so Keith isn’t completely squished. Just enough so that he’s trapped and unable to escape.

Keith tries to hold his phone away but Lance has the advantage. After a brief struggle that’s ended early when Lance jabs his fingers under Keith’s arms, making him laugh and convulse, Lance holds the phone aloft like a trophy. Then he swipes up through the article Keith was reading, scans the contents, and glares down at him. 

Keith is pouting, eyes diverted to the TV as he catches his breath. His face is delightfully pink, and any other time Lance would be teasing him. But he has more pressing matters. 

“Keith. This it literally titled _Hurricane Myths_” he turns his phone screen to him, waiting until Keith takes a peek before continuing, “it’s bad to put tape on windows because it can actually cause more damage.”

He stares at Keith as the cogs turn in his head. After a moment Keith looks away again. 

“Oh.”

He doesn’t say anything more, so Lance frowns and this time puts Keith’s phone on the opposite end table. Then he stretches himself back out over Keith, ignores how his crossed arms dig into his own chest, and presses several little kisses all over his face. He does it until Keith moves his arms and wraps them around Lance instead, and Lance rewards him with a big smooch to his lips. He smiles down at Keith’s grumpy face. 

“I know you’re worried cause you’ve never dealt with this before, but I _promise_ that it’s not going to be as bad as you think it is. We’ll get some rain and wind, but that’ll be it. We’re safe here, and even if the storm shifts we have the supplies to deal with it. Okay?”

Keith sighs, and nods his head. 

“Okay...Sorry.”

Lance immediately kisses him again. 

“Don’t be sorry for being nervous. Hurricanes are scary, I’m just used to them. And no matter what there's going to be some damage somewhere, and it always sucks seeing other people have their homes messed up. But we’ll be fine.”

He presses some more kisses to Keith’s cheek, and delights in the way he can feel it when he smiles. 

“Yeah, okay. I’ll stop googling stuff.”

Lance laughs. 

“Good. Because there’s someplace special I’ve been wanting to take you before the rain came in, but you’ve been too busy looking up average storm surge heights.”

Keith turns his head to him, eyebrows raised.

“Really? Where?”

Lance smiles, and tugs Keith to his feet.

—————————————————————————————

“I’m not getting out.”

“Come on man! I’ve been waiting for this _exact_ moment since we’ve met!”

Keith scoffs and sinks further back into his seat. 

“You have not.”

“I have! It's _fate_, Keith!”

He reaches over and unbuckles Keith’s seatbelt, and motions to the door. 

“Come ooon. For me?”

He juts his bottom lip out and widens his eyes. Keith doesn’t even look in his direction. 

“We’re literally just pulled over on the side of the road. A cop is gonna come along and ask what the hell we’re doing.”

“Not if you hurry! There’s no one around right now!”

Keith groans and tilts his head back. He stares at the roof of the truck, while Lance stares at him. He stares and stares until Keith throws his hands up and opens the door.

“YES!” Lance cheers. 

He opens his own door and follows Keith to the front of the truck. He motions for him to go stand in front of the tall green sign, and Keith does so with arms crossed and a frown on his face. As soon as he’s in position he drags his sunglasses down to cover his eyes. Lance doesn’t bother asking for him to take them off or to smile, just holds up his phone and takes several photos with different angles and filters. 

When he’s done he rushes back to the truck, with Keith shouting after him. He’s buckling himself in as Keith gets in on the passenger’s side. He reaches over to smack Lance’s arm for abandoning him, cheeks pink under his sunglasses. Lance laughs and shifts gears, checking the empty road before driving away from the sign marking the boundary to Mullet Creek. 

“Oh my god, that’s gonna be my new phone background. I’m having it printed and framed, and everyone’s getting a copy.”

“You are not-“

“I’m gonna get it tattooed on my ass.”

Keith laughs, unexpected and loud, and Lance beams. He reaches out to interlock their hands and brings them up to press a kiss to Keith’s knuckles. He sees Keith smile at him from his peripheral, and squeezes his hand as he drives them back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is, indeed, a Mullet Creek in my old neighborhood.


	13. Angst

Keith reaches his hand out, fingertips barely brushing Lance’s arm before Lance jerks it back. 

“Don’t.”

Keith clenches his teeth, fights to breathe out slowly and steadily. Fights to stop his heart from clogging his throat. He doesn’t have much success. 

“Lance.” 

Lance angles his body further away, avoiding looking at him. He watches as Lance crosses his arms tightly to his chest, nails digging into his biceps. He sits balanced on the edge of his wooden chair, the kitchen table between them feeling more like a hazy chasm. Keith feels like if he tries to reach for Lance again, he’ll be dragged in and suffocated. He places his hands in his lap instead, squeezing and twisting his fingers until the bones of his knuckles grind together. 

Keith swallows his heart back down as far as it’ll go and tries again. 

“What do I have to do? What’ll it take to prove to you that I’m not going anywhere?” 

He tries to ignore the wobble in his voice, the cracks and pitches of his tone. The afternoon light is shining through the window above the sink, everything in its path gilded. It could be so beautiful, but Keith is exhausted after a day of pleading, after too many sleepless nights. His eyes are dry and burning, and the sunlight is nothing but too bright, too intense. Lance holds himself still, entire body rigid with tension. Eventually, he sees Lance slowly shake his head. He doesn’t say anything. 

They sit there in silence. The old house creaks as it settles, and cicadas scream outside as the light fades. Keith doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how he can make Lance believe him, so he stays quiet. When the evening darkness begins to seep into the kitchen, Lance suddenly stands up. The scrape of his chair on the tile floor is deafening, his movements jerky and stiff. He turns the little light above the sink on, enough to see by but dull enough to not blind them. He stays there, back to Keith as he braces both hands on the counter.

Keith stands up too, slowly and mindful of his aching joints. His chair groans as he moves, and he sees Lance’s shoulders tick up another inch. He keeps the table between them, not wanting to overwhelm Lance or make him feel trapped. He feels desperate, in a way he never has before. Not desperate to survive, or to complete a dangerous mission. He’s desperate to close the distance between him and Lance. It’s a distance that has spread like a mold through their relationship, growing and worsening each time Keith looked back. Every time he visited Earth Lance seemed to have shrunk further and further inside himself, like his soul was withering away. He was desperate to fix things, now, because it feels like he’s running out of time. 

He’s desperate enough to say anything. 

“I can leave the Blades. They’re more than established enough to thrive without me. We get new volunteers every day, so my mom and Kolivan will never be short-handed. I don’t have to be gone all the time. I can stay on Earth.” 

He tries to keep his voice low and even, just barely succeeding. It’s an incredibly bold claim, incredibly impulsive and irrational. But he’ll do it. If Lance’s asks it of him, he’ll do it. 

Lance tips his head back to stare at the ceiling, and Keith can see how quickly he blinks his eyes. He lowers his head and turns around, eyes glassy and arms wrapped back around himself. It’s a habit he’s noticed Lance doing lately, holding himself like he’ll fall apart otherwise. Keith wishes he could wrap Lance in his arms instead, tuck him close between his ribs and hide him from every hurt the universe keeps throwing at him. 

He settles for taking a couple of small, shuffled steps towards him. 

Lance clears his throat, eyes darting to Keith’s before dropping again. His arms tighten around himself. 

“We both know you can’t just walk away from the Blades like that. They’re your family, and I would never ask that of you.”

Keith opens his mouth, but Lance quickly continues.

“They’ll always need you. The people you help will always need you. You can’t walk away from that-”

“_You_ need me,” Keith interjects, “you’re my family too. And I want to be here for you.”

Lance blinks his eyes repeatedly again, but it doesn’t stop the water from pooling. 

“You weren’t here the last time I needed you. I survived that and I can survive this time too.” 

“Lance…” his voice breaks. 

Lance closes his eyes and the tears fall, sliding down his cheeks past dull blue scars to drop on his shirt. His Altean marks haven’t glowed since the day the lions left them, and Keith isn’t sure what the significance of that is. He watches as Lance brings a hand up to cover his mouth, but it doesn’t muffle the noise that’s ripped from his throat. 

Keith feels like his skin is electrified, his bones quivering. He forces his legs to move, to lessen the space separating them before pausing. He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt so useless than in this instant. He’s watching Lance fall apart in front of him and he’s just _standing here_. 

He wants to find a way to scrape the aches from Lance’s heart. He wants to take away the weight that bows his back. He wants to wrap him in the softest robe and brush the knots from his hair. More than anything he just wants to hold him. 

Lance has turned away again, one arm raised and wiping his face while the other rests on the countertop. Keith steps up behind him and wraps his arms around Lance’s stomach. Lance gasps, hands falling to Keith’s. For a second, he’s terrified Lance is going to yank them away. Instead, Lance tucks his fingers underneath the cuff of his sleeves, gripping the fabric. After a moment, Lance’s arms relax. Keith feels the tension leak out from between each knob in his spine.

He pulls Lance closer so his back is melded to his chest, and he rests his cheek against the top of Lance’s head. His breath is stuttering, like he can’t quite catch it. Keith moves a hand up to Lance’s sternum, lets it rest over his heart, and presses down. He can feel Lance’s heart knock against his palm and bounce back against his own chest, his own heartbeat. He wraps his arms tighter across Lance’s stomach, pulling him closer and turning to press his mouth against Lance’s hair. 

Lance’s whole body shudders, curling over himself. Keith moves with him, just wanting to keep him supported, when Lance suddenly pushes Keith back and turns around. 

He throws his arms around Keith’s middle and buries his face in his neck. Keith immediately wraps one of his arms around Lance’s shoulders, the other dropping to curl around his waist. He holds Lance close and sways them gently as Lance cries, teeth nicking his collarbone when he gasps. 

The shadows of the house curl around them, a gentle blanket hiding them away from the world and helping to muffle Lance’s sorrow. He settles slowly, breaths calming down and sniffles quieting. Keith doesn’t let go until Lance moves first, and he steps back reluctantly. His hands drop away but Lance catches one, and holds it carefully between both of his own. Keith freezes. 

For a moment Lance just stares down at their hands, unmoving. Then, slowly, he glides his thumb across Keith’s knuckles. Keith's heart tremors, the gesture unbearably soft. Lance turns Keith’s hand over and uncurls his fingers, tracing their crease lines. Then he grabs Keith’s other hand and places them both flat over his chest, braced under his own hands. 

He clears his throat, and Keith leans closer. 

“I want to trust you, Keith. I want to believe you when you say you’ll be here for me. But I’m just-“

The edge of his mouth curves sharply down, eyebrows scrunching. Keith leans closer and presses his forehead to Lance’s. He stays quiet as Lance gathers himself.

“I'm just scared. I want to believe you, but it would be so easy for you to leave again. Despite what you say I know you can’t quit the Blades for good. I know you’ll get bored staying on Earth all the time-”

“Lance,” Keith interrupts, pressing his head a little harder against Lance’s to get his attention. Lance closes his mouth and sniffles. 

“I don’t know why you think I’ll be unhappy if I stay here with you, because I won’t. I won’t be miserable, or bored, or whatever else is running through your mind. I’ll be happy because I’ll be with you. I just want the chance to prove that.” 

Keith closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He grips the fabric of Lance’s shirt, and curls his body closer. He just needs one opportunity to prove he’d be worth it, that’d he’d be worthy of Lance. Just one chance to show he’s not running away this time. 

Lance breath hits his face as he sighs, and it feels like Keith’s throat closes when Lance squeezes his hands. 

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like to read the much fluffier sequel to this, click [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21306413)


	14. Stars

Keith is trying to decide if he wants to put his hair up or leave it down, when Shiro knocks and peeks his head past the cracked door of the bathroom. 

“Wow. You’re brushing your hair?”

Keith gives him a deadpan look through the mirror, and puts his hairbrush back down on the counter. Shiro opens the door wider as Keith ties his hair back in a low ponytail, stares for a second, then takes it out and runs the brush through again. Shiro snickers at him and crosses his arms. 

“You going out with Lance again?”

“Yeah. We were originally gonna go eat at that seafood place he used to work at, but since it’s like negative a thousand degrees outside and half the roads are buried in snow,   
I’m just gonna pick up some wings and we’re gonna hang out at his place.”

Shiro hums, and Keith tries a simple braid this time. He smells his underarms to make sure he put deodorant on, looks back in the mirror, and starts undoing the braid. 

“Try a bun instead.”

Keith purses his lips, thinking, then does as Shiro suggests. When he’s got his hair all tied up he pulls some pieces loose to frame his face, and considers his reflection. He deems it good enough, and grabs his toothbrush for a last minute refresher.

“Are you gonna change?”

Keith pauses brushing his teeth, foam spitting when he talks. 

“Should I?”

Shiro shrugs, but before he can say anything Adam walks past the bathroom door, not even looking inside when he says, “absolutely.” 

Keith glares and brushes harder while Shiro grins and leans out of the bathroom to watch Adam make his way down the hall. 

“Be nice, babe! Keith’s got a date!”

Adam shouts something back, but Keith can’t hear it as he turns the water on and leans down to rinse out his mouth. 

When he straightens back up Shiro is looking over his outfit, plain black jeans and his favorite red Henley shirt. It’s the only nice shirt he has, because he refuses to buy anything button-up. He was going to wear the overcoat he got for Christmas with it. Keith turns and opens his arms, sighing as he awaits judgement. 

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Shiro doesn’t hesitate. 

“If you’re just hanging out at his place you should put on something more comfortable.”

“Like what?”

Shiro turns and heads for Keith’s room, so he follows. When they get inside Shiro starts rummaging around in his closet, and Keith sits on his bed to wait. He pulls his phone out to see a missed call from Lance, but no voicemail or text. He glances up at Shiro and calls back.

It only takes two rings before he hears Lance’s voice, sounding distracted and out of breath. 

“Hey Keith!”

“Hey, sorry I missed your call. What’s up?”

Shiro shoots a look at him over his shoulder, that he shrugs at, so he goes back to pulling different clothes off the hangars. 

“Yeah, that’s okay! I just wanted to let you know that I had to work an extra hour cause the person who takes the shift after me was late. I’m heading back now, but it’ll take like 20 minutes for me to get there and shower. And hide any embarrassing stuff laying around.”

Keith snorts, and shakes his head at Shiro when he holds up his old camp sweatshirt in question. It used to be his favorite, but it’s too small in the arms now. He only kept it for sentimentality, but maybe he’ll give it to Lance someday. He loves old sweaters. 

“That’s fine, I’m running a little late too.”

“Oh, good! Okay well I need to hurry up, but if you get here before me, or if I’m in the shower, the spare key is on top of the porch light. Just let yourself in so I don’t find a Keith snowman on my porch.” 

“I’d make a great snowman.”

He can practically hear Lance rolling his eyes. 

“Of course you would. Keithy the snowman. Anyway, I gotta go, so see you soon!”

“See you.”

He ends the call and sees his own smiling face in the black screen of his phone. When he looks up his smile drops, because Shiro has an armful of clothes and the goopiest, dumbest expression on his face. 

“You _like_ him-”

“You say this like it's news or something.”

“_Awww_.”

Keith groans and stands up, holding out his hands for whatever outfit Shiro picked for him. It ends up being his black school hoodie, a long sleeve undershirt, and his fleece leggings. Keith raises his brows at the combo. 

“Really? I wear this hoodie like everyday. It’s not special.”

“You’re going to be eating takeout and watching movies. And who knows what else-”

“Not anything that’s your business!”

Shiro continues unbothered, gesturing at his clothes.

“Point is, you don’t want to be wearing tight clothes when you’re going to be lounging. And Lance says he loves that hoodie.”

Keith pauses, and looks back to Shiro confused. 

“I introduced you once, when have you two ever talked?”

“We follow each other on Snapchat.”

Keith rolls his eyes, and motions for Shiro to get out so he can change. Shiro walks away but hesitates at the door. 

“Hey Keith? I’m glad things are going well with you two. He’s a good kid, and you seem to really care about him.”

Keith blushes, but admits he does. When Shiro leaves he redresses, and reluctantly agrees that he feels a lot comfier. Not that he’ll tell Shiro. He goes into the living room where Shiro has collapsed on Adam, who is just trying to read from his book and keep Shiro’s elbow out of his ribs. He makes one last gesture at himself. Shiro gives him a thumbs up, but Adam barely glances at him.

“You look like a hooligan.”

“A good hooligan,” Shiro interrupts. “Like the only trouble you get into is jaywalking.”

“I hate you both.”

Keith double checks that his phone and wallet are in his pocket, and goes to put on his boots. And after sticking his hand outside, where it is quickly iced over, he also grabs his leather jacket and gloves. He leans his head past the corner to the living room.

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Use protection!”

Keith flips them off and heads out into the cold. The chill in the air immediately stings his lungs, so he quickens his pace and lifts his hood over his head. Lance only lives a few streets over, with the wing place between them, but the slush and black ice slow him down. When he gets to Bert’s Wings ‘N’ Things he rushes inside and is greeted by pleasantly warm air and no line. He puts in his order and sends a quick text to Lance to say he’s getting the food now. He hasn’t gotten a reply by the time the the food’s ready, so he figures Lance isn’t home yet. He braces himself for the wind and walks back outside. 

When he gets to Lance’s apartment complex he goes up the stairs and knocks on the door. When it goes unanswered he reaches for the small light illuminating the apartment number and feels around for the key on top. He drags it down with a thick layer of dust, and lets himself inside. The small night light Lance keeps by the entrance is on, and as soon as he shuts the door he can hear faint music. He shrugs off his jacket, puts the food on the counter, and heads down the hall. 

When he rounds the corner he sees light spill out from Lance’s room, a quick-paced song echoing around him. He pushes the door open, and bites his lips so he doesn’t laugh. Lance has his back to him, in nothing but black basketball shorts and a very small tank top. He swings his hips around and looks over the different sweaters laying out on the bed. He hums along to the techno-swing playing, and Keith leans against the doorframe to enjoy the show. 

It’s as Lance leans over to grab a faded grey sweater and his shirt rides up that Keith notices the black mark at the dip of his spine.

Slightly above a gorgeous set of dimples is a tattoo. It’s a solid black triangle, hollowed out with dots and stars in the center, and a crescent moon. 

Keith doesn’t know how he wasn’t aware Lance had a tattoo, but now he’s fixated. When Lance straightens back up to slip his sweater on Keith walks forward and pokes him. Lance shrieks, spinning around and if Keith didn’t move back he’d probably have gotten elbowed in the face. Lance slips in his fuzzy socks and ends up sprawled on the bed, sweater draped from his neck and only one arm all the way through. His hair is still damp, and he looks so startled and embarrassed Keith busts out laughing. 

“Keith!”

The indignation in his voice makes Keith laugh harder, bending over to brace himself on Lance’s knee as his belly starts cramping. Lance smacks his arm away and Keith topples next to him on the bed. His laughter settles as Lance sits up and adjusts his sweater. He grabs his phone to turn the music off. Keith stays where he’s laid out, and reaches out to bunch Lance’s sweater up so he can rub his thumb over the tattoo. The skin twitches, and Lance twists his body to look at him. 

“I didn’t know you had a tramp stamp,” he teases. 

Lance grins, cheeks still flushed a pretty pink. He hikes the fabric up so Keith can see the entire thing. 

“Well, it hasn’t been warm enough for crop tops.”

Keith stops tracing the lines and his eyes go unfocused as he imagines seeing Lance’s trim waist exposed to the sun. 

“...You have crop tops?

“No!” Lance laughs, “but good to know what you're into.”

Keith rolls his eyes and sits up, throwing an arm around Lance’s shoulder. He tugs Lance close and kisses his cheek. 

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself.”

“I got you those honey teriyaki wings you like.”

Lance’s face lights up. Keith laughs as Lance tries to drag him to the living room, sliding in his socks. He ends up jumping on Keith instead, and Keith piggybacks him to the living room where he dumps Lance on the couch before grabbing their food. Keith kicks his boots off and settles close to Lance. They chat about their day, Lance mouthing off about the girl who is always late and makes him cover her shift. As soon as they’re done eating Keith pulls Lance to stretch out over him so they can lay down and cuddle. 

It’s partially so he can use Lance as a blanket while they watch TV, but mostly so he can place his hand on Lance’s back and trace over the stars on his skin.


	15. On Vacation

“I wish they had it with the Sunflowers design.”

Lance rolls his eyes and huffs. Keith has repeated himself about 20 times now, and Lance is pretty sure he’s not even aware of it. But it’s amusing seeing him struggle over what souvenirs to get. They pretty much have everyone else’s gifts done by now and were just browsing for themselves. They’d been back and forth to both souvenir shops that the museum has, and Lance is walking away with a Van Gogh coloring book, a lanyard with his most famous paintings on it, a stack of postcards, and a cute Sunflowers tote to carry it all in. Keith, on the other hand, hasn’t found anything yet. 

The only thing to have really caught his eye was a teddy bear that had Almond Blossoms printed on it. It was incredibly cute, but Keith was griping over the fact they didn’t have one with Sunflowers on it. Which was fair, because that and the blossoms were the two main pieces showcased here, but it’s been about 15 minutes of him dilly-dallying and the museum is starting to fill with more people. He looks back and sees Keith scanning the shirts they’ve already checked out, before eyeing the bear again. 

Lance rolls his eyes once more. 

“Keith, just get the bear. It’s still cute.”

“Yeah...” he replies unsurely. 

He stares at the bear some more. Lance groans. He scans the room and catches sight of a sign for the toilets. He nudges Keith and hands him his souvenir bag. 

“I’m going to the bathroom. Make a decision by the time I get back or I’m just buying the bear myself.”

Keith sticks his tongue out at him, and Lance does it back as he walks away. He turns towards the crowd before Keith can see him smiling. Despite being slightly miffed over Keith repeating himself, one of his less-than-noble pet peeves, he’s really happy they came. 

When they were first planning their trip here to Amsterdam, they weren’t sure if they wanted to come to the Van Gogh Museum. They mostly wanted to check out the tulip festival, the food, and the Anne Frank house. But there had been a discount on tickets, and they needed something to fill their second day, so they went with it. Lance is glad they did. Even though he’s not the most knowledgeable about art, he can certainly appreciate the history and story behind it all. And it was pretty cool getting to see the famous work of a famous artist in person. Keith knows more about art in general than he does, and was able to talk about some of the pieces as they walked around. It ended up being pretty fun. 

Except for now, when it’s taking forever for Keith to pick at least one souvenir. Lance is starving! And they have more exploring to do so Keith needs to get his butt in gear. Once Lance is done using the weirdly fancy bathrooms he heads back out to see Keith browsing the plates and silverware that probably cost more than their airplane tickets. When he gets closer Lance gives him a look, glaring at his empty hands. 

“That’s it. I’m getting the damn bear.”

Keith protests, but Lance ignores him and manhandles his tote bag away from Keith so he can dig his wallet out from it. He jabs a finger into Keith’s shoulder. 

“Go use the bathroom while I pay, cause we’re getting food after this and I’m not stopping until then.”

“Fine,” Keith groans as he sulks away.

Lance shakes his head, grabs the teddy bear, and heads for the registers. He gets in line and pulls out his phone to check the time. It’s only 11am, so they still have a lot of time to kill today. The Van Gogh Museum was the only thing they needed to buy tickets in advance for so they were free to roam around the city now. 

Lance moves up in line and looks over the small impulse-buy trinkets by the register. It’s mostly toys for children, keychains, and other cheap items. He doesn’t see anything interesting until a card with rainbow boxes catches his eyes. When he reaches out and unburies it from under a pile of mini snowglobes, he finds a mood ring. Attached by a thin plastic hoop is a card that has Van Gogh’s face on one side, and the mood colors and their meanings on the other.

By reflex alone, he tries to slip the ring on each finger. Funnily enough it fits the best on his ring finger. It’s a little tight, so it doesn’t slide all the way down, but he’s easily amused by the deep blue color mixing with green. According to the card, he’s happy and a touch excited. When the ring start turning a deep purple, he thinks of Keith. 

Someone taps his shoulder, and he jumps. When he looks the lady in line behind him kindly points to the register. It’s his turn, and the cashier smiles at him a bit exasperatedly. Lance stammers a quick apology and heads over to put the bear on the counter, and after a second’s consideration, twists the ring off and puts it up there too. He makes idle talk about his time at the museum when asked, and isn’t able to resist buying another tote bag. It has the skeleton smoking a cigarette on it, which ended up being Keith’s favorite painting.

He pays and stuffs the goodies in the new bag, then walks back out to the main lobby. He spots Keith watching the giant, wall-length projection that has a slideshow of the museum playing. Keith looks away when Lance walks up and bumps his shoulder.

“Got the baby. Are you ready to go?”

Keith frowns at him.

“Don’t say it like that. And yeah, we can go.”

They head outside and get blinded by the bright sun. It’s a lot warmer than when they arrived, so Lance shucks off his jacket and ties it around his waist. There’s a kiosk right by the museum’s exit with more Van Gogh shirts and posters. They weren’t able to find any shirts they liked inside so they decide to take a quick look. It’s a small kiosk with hardly any room for Lance and his two souvenir bags, so he forces Keith to carry them so he can squeeze inside to look at the magnets in the back corner. He hears Keith grumble as he stays by the shirts. 

When he doesn’t find anything he wants he goes back out and rounds the postcard stands to see Keith staring down into his tote bag. Lance groans loudly all the way over to him. 

“You are not allowed to change your mind again. The bear has been bought, and I’m pretty sure they don’t do returns anyway.”

Keith doesn’t look at him, just reaches down into the bag and pulls out the mood ring. Lance inexplicably feels his cheeks heat when Keith holds it up between them.

“You bought a mood ring?”

“Uhh. Yeah?”

Keith raises his brows and smiles up at him.

“Why?” he asks in a laughing tone. 

Lance shrugs, and turns away as Keith looks over the mood colors on the card.

“Thought you might like it.”

Keith’s smile widens, his cheeks bunching and making his eyes crinkle. 

“You’re so cheesy.”

He breaks the hook connecting the ring and the card, tossing it in his bag. He starts trying it on each finger, and Lance smiles. He leaves it on his ring finger, like Lance did only with a better fit, and holds up the card as the colors change. Lance scoots closer and leans against Keith’s side as the deep purple of the ring remains, with blue just peeking in at the edges.

“Guess I’m feeling bashful and happy.”

“Sounds about right,” he says, a touch sarcastic.

Keith scoffs, and he nudges his elbow into Lance’s side. He holds his hand out so they can look at the colors of the ring in the light. The significance of Keith wearing a ring, that Lance got for him, on his _ring finger_ isn’t lost on Lance. His cheeks burn some more, and judging by the teasing look Keith gives him, the significance isn’t lost on him either. 

Lance hip checks Keith away and starts walking back to the main street. 

“Come on, let’s go find some grub. I wanna go check out the Red Light Secrets Museum while it’s still daytime.” 

Keith catches up and hooks their arms together. It’s too hot out for hand holding, so Lance appreciates it, even as they use their link to twist each other around as they walk. Lance laughs, and delights in the way he can feel the ring when Keith brings his other hand up to grip Lance’s arm. It’s a feeling he wouldn’t mind getting used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I annoyed the crap out of my sister complaining about the lack of a sunflower bear, but the coolness of being in Amsterdam drowned that out.


	16. Free Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Lance's POV from the first chapter.

Lance takes another peek over his shoulder at the stranger, then turns back around to his phone. He continues typing in the group chat about the completely bizarre situation he’s currently in, and Hunk and Pidge refuse to believe him!

TO: GROUP  
I’m telling you it’s a mullet!

He huffs at his friend’s disbelief. Sure, it’s not a mullet in the classic sense, but it’s definitely close enough! He takes another look and sees the guy is hunched over his table, sipping from his smoothie as he scrolls on his phone. Every now and then he’ll turn his head to the side to watch people walk by the window he’s sitting by. With him being distracted, Lance allows himself to stare. 

He’s not bad looking. In fact he’s rather handsome. Even two tables away Lance can see his beautifully long lashes, the kind people would kill for. He also looks like the kind of dude who completely unappreciated them. Lance purses his lips at the thought. He turns back to his chat to see Pidge doubting him, and makes a decision.

TO: GROUP  
Gimme a second I’ll take a pic

As long as the guy keeps looking out the window the back of his head is directly facing Lance. It would be too obvious if he twists around for a photo, even though the library is pretty dead right now. Still, a straggler shows up every now and then and he doesn’t need their judgement. Instead he opens his camera app and switches it to the front-facing mode. He’s met with the unsightly view of his nostrils and double chin. He scowls and lifts his phone higher. From here the guy appears over his shoulder. 

It’ll be hard to get a clear image of his hair since he’s in front of the window, but maybe if he angles it just right...

The loud shutter of his phone clicking makes his heart shoot up to his throat. He sees the guy’s head snap towards him through the camera, and if he were smart he would have just thrown up a peace sign or something to make it seem like he was just taking a basic selfie. 

Instead he panics, and his phone slips out of his hand to clatter loudly on the table. He smacks his hands down over it to silence the reverberations. He stays completely still, like he won’t be seen so long as he doesn’t even breathe. He stares down at his phone as he gets a new chat notification from Pidge.

Suddenly he hears the sound of a library chair rolling over the wooden floor. His shoulders rise to his ears as he curls over his phone and sends out an S.O.S. to the chat.

TO: GROUP HES COMING OVRR RHERE  
GUSYHSSSA

A dark shape sits down in the chair across from him. Lance presses his phone to his chest with both hands and closes his eyes. He’s not sure what’s about to happen, but he’s sure he’s not going to survive. 

He peeks an eye open when no words are spoken to see the guy sitting across from him. He’s got both elbows on the table, chin resting on his hands as he smirks. He’s so much more handsome face-to-face. Lance is pretty sure his heart is palpitating.

He’s definitely sure of it when the guy speaks and his voice sounds all rough and scratchy.

“Hi.”

Lance takes a shaky breath in and lowers his phone.

“Hi,” he whispers back in shame.

The guy laughs. When he speaks again his voice is light, not the deep rumble it was before. He gestures to the closed biology book in front of Lance that’s he hasn’t opened since getting here. 

“Gettin’ some studying done?”

Lance laughs, sounding nervous to his own ears. 

“Not really.”

“Too busy creeping on unassuming strangers?”

“I wha- no!” 

He really wishes his voice didn’t squeak. The guy looks unimpressed, so Lance sighs and slinks down even more in his seat. 

“Sorry.”

He gets a surprisingly soft look in return considering he was, in fact, creeping. The guy shrugs. 

“S’Alright. You’re a pretty cute creeper so I guess I can let it slide. Why were taking a picture though?”

Lance cheeks hurt from how hard he’s blushing. All the blood rushing to his head must be making him loopy because there’s no way he heard what he thinks he just did. What can he even _say_ to that? He looks up from where he’s slouched when he feels a light nudge against his shoe. He can’t believe this guy is just chatting after catching Lance sneak a picture of him. And he certainly can’t believe he’s, what? Being so nice? Flirting??

Well, if he’s gonna take it in stride, then so will Lance. He clears his throat and sits up in his seat. 

“I was just admiring your hair. Aside from the fact that it’s from the 80’s it actually looks pretty nice.” 

The guy looks surprised, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open. Maybe Lance shouldn’t have said that. Maybe that makes him a legitimate creeper. He’s about to apologize again when the guy huffs, a hand reaching up to tug on his hair. 

“Uh, thanks. My brother has been nagging me nonstop since I’m living with him this semester. I finally caved and started conditioning and actually brushing it everyday.”

Any fluster Lance was feeling suddenly dissipates.

“You only just starting using conditioner? And brushing??”

“Well, most conditioner makes my hair greasy. And it’s not like I never brushed my hair, it’s just always easier to tie it back than waste time brushing it.”

“Waste ti- what, dude no! Not conditioning and never brushing it just causes damage and make it worse!” 

He gets an eye roll in exchange for his ranting. 

“You sound worse than him.”

“Well yeah! Do you see how nice my hair looks? I don’t get these soft curls naturally!”

The guys chuckles at his exclamation. Lance smiles, and feels no self-consciousness. He’s spent a lot time and effort on his appearance, because there was once a time he used to hate how he looked. Too skinny, too lanky, skin too dark, skin too light, hair too curly, hair too straight. Countless occasions where he’s felt like he was too much. 

It’s taken him a long time to feel comfortable in his body, let alone actually appreciate how he looks. He still has his down days, where he’s disappointed looking at himself, but for the most part he’s content with who he is and how he looks now. 

He’s brought out of his internal spiel when a calloused hand enters his vision and brushes through the hair at his temple. He looks up and catches the guy’s eyes. He’s got that teasing smirk on his face again, but there’s no hiding that rosy tinge on his cheeks. 

“It’s certainly soft. I’ll give you that.”

His hand falls away and Lance picks his jaw up from where it dropped on the table in shock. He gathers every scrap of courage he has left to tilt his chin up and smile back.

“Well that’s because I take good care of it! You could learn a thing or two from me.”

“Yeah? Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

He holds his hand out palm up. Lance has no idea what he’s doing, so he just places his own hand on top. The guy laughs again, sweetly and probably much too loud for the library, but Lance is enamored with it. He squeezes Lance’s hand.

“I was actually asking for your phone? So I could put my number in. If you want.”

Yeah, he was right about not surviving this confrontation. He slips his hand away and replaces it with his phone, all the while hiding behind his other hand in embarrassment.

The guy types his number in and slides it back across the table. He stands up and pushes his chair in, leaving his hands on the top of it as he leans closer.

“I have to get to my next class, but you can text me if you ever wanna hang out?”

“Yup! Yeah I- uh, I’ll do that. For sure. Soon.”

“Cool.”

He goes to grab the smoothie he left behind, and walks back past Lance to leave the study area. He shoots Lance a heartbreaking smile just before rounding the corner, smoothie raised in goodbye. Lance waves back, lamely.

His hand flops back to the table when the guy is gone, and he stares blankly out towards nothing. He thinks over their conversation and tries to process everything that just happened. 

“Holy shit,” he whispers.

Then, he smiles. A big grin that’s sudden and hurts his cheeks. He flips his phone around and stares at the new contact. Keith K. the name says. He wiggles in his seat to let some of the excitement out. Then quickly looks around to make sure no one saw.

When no one is there to witness his awkwardness he melts back into his chair and pulls up the missed messages from Hunk and Pidge.

TO: GROUP  
So  
Still alive  
Guess who’s got a new number in their phone

Then, after hesitating and thinking over what he could say, he sends off another text.

  
TO: KEITH  
So Mullet, how do you feel about at-home spa dates? -Lance 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
